Bulgaria’s Banking Sector Faces Scrutiny: Compliance Regulations in Focus

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Bulgaria has been assessed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on its compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations. The country’s banking sector is under scrutiny to ensure it meets international standards.

Assessment Findings

The assessment report highlights Bulgaria’s varying levels of compliance across different requirements. The country is:

Compliant Recommendations

• National cooperation and coordination (R.2)
• Money laundering offence (R.3)
• Targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terrorist financing (R.6)
• Internal controls and foreign branches and subsidiaries (R.18)
• Financial intelligence units (R.29)
• Mutual legal assistance (R.37), extradition (R.39), and other forms of international cooperation (R.40)

Partially Compliant Recommendations

• Confiscation and provisional measures (R.4)
• Customer due diligence (R.10)

Non-Compliant Recommendations

• Non-profit organisations (R.8)
• Financial institution secrecy laws (R.9)
• New technologies (R.15)
• Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and arrangements (R.24-25)

Implications

The assessment report’s findings will be used to inform Bulgaria’s efforts to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime, ensuring the country meets its obligations under international standards.

Source: FATF Follow-Up Report 2023